Is He Crazy?
by ChimeBells
Summary: COMPLETE! Naruto has made a request to the Godaime. What will Sakura do when she finds out what Sasuke did to him, now that she's falling for the blond? Will she be able to save him before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy day. The clouds hid the sunlight, darkening each and every village of the Fire Country.

As thunder roared outside, people stood inside their comfortable and warm homes, enjoying the cold day with their families and friends. However, not everyone was this lucky. At that very moment, a certain blonde walked to the gates of Konoha, with only his memories and hopes to accompany him in his lone journey.

Yeah, Naruto was going after Sasuke, again. This time, he swore that he would not use violence. This was Sasuke's last chance of earning any forgiveness from the village.

'_Well...we failed miserably in our last attempt to bring him back. I don't know why I am even willing to try again, but...'_ He sighed. Naruto obviously did not show it, but he was tired of searching for his former comrade.

As he approached the village's gates, he noticed that the two ninjas in guard duty that day were a very sleepy Shikamaru, and a rather annoyed Neji.

"Would you _please_ stop complaining? You look like an old men saying how everything in your life is so troublesome!"

"Yeah, yeah, like I care. You are sooo troublesome."

Neji had a very angry face. His hands closed into fists and he aimed to the lazy ninja next to him, but Naruto interrupted the little outburst before the Hyuuga could send Shikamaru flying to the other side of the earth.

"Hey guys!" He waved with a happy smile. Fortunately, Neji seemed to forget his anger and Shikamaru awoke from his slumber and turned to talk to the blond.

"Naruto, going out on a mission?" He nodded. "You were unlucky to get one on this bed weather."

"Um...Actually, I was the one who requested the mission. I'm going after Sasuke."

"Oh...I see." Shikamaru looked down the street from left to right and otherwise. "Where are Sakura and Kakashi?"

"They aren't coming. I convinced baa-chan to let me go alone."

His expression changed to disbelief, and Neji's eyes winded.

"Are you crazy?" Naruto laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You just said exactly what baa-can said when I told her my request. But don't worry, I'll succeed this time."

Naruto turned and walked the way to the gates. As he passed through them, he could hear Neji's voice despite the distance.

"Good luck Naruto."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Sakura!"

She turned. Ino ran towards her, waving slightly. When the blond caught up with the pink-haired girl, both friends continued walking through the street they were on.

"What're you doing out in such a day?" Ino asked.

"I was summoned by the Hokage. She said there was something important I needed to know." They took a few more steps in silence. "What are you up to today?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing very important. You see, Shikamaru is in guard duty with Neji, and Asuma-sensei is emptying his wallet in the barbeque stand with Chouji, because he lost some sort of bet. Therefore I have absolutely nothing to do for the day." She paused to catch her breath. "Can I accompany you? When you are finished with the Hokage we could walk around and find something to do."

"Sounds fine to me. It's been a while since the last time we did anything together." Sakura smiled, as they reached the Hokage tower.

Shizune woke Tsunade up from her usual nap (paperwork might be a good pillow), and Sakura entered the room.

"Good morning Tsunade-sama." Sitting on a chair in the middle of the office, the young kunoichi faced her mistress.

"Good morning." The Hokage landed he chin over her crossed fingers and yawned, but even trough the laziness, one could see the seriousness in her eyes. "Look, I called you here to say something; so I'll get straight to the point." The blonde sighed and looked out the window.

"What do you have to say shishou?" Sakura asked kindly.

"Yesterday night, Naruto came here to make a request. He asked me to put him in a mission to bring Sasuke back…alone."

"Is he crazy?" Her face sowed disbelief. "I-I mean…It's not like I don't trust him, but with the Akatsuki out there and Orochimaru…They could…He could…" Her voice lowered until it turned in a mere whisper.

"I know what could happen!" Said Tsunade, frustrated. She knew that sometime she would drown in regret for letting her little brother go on this journey. " It's just that…You should have seen his eyes! I couldn't hold him here anymore!" She said all in one breath, more to herself than to the worried Sakura in front of her. Although, none of them noticed the raven haired woman with a little pig in her arms staring caringly to the stressed Hokage. _'Naruto…If only you knew how much you change people just by looking at their eyes …' _

Shizune was rapidly noticed by the two kunoichi in the room. She gasped under the two surprised looks she received. "Am…sorry for the interruption, It's just that Shikamaru is here. He wants to talk to the Hokage, and says that it's of great –" That was when the door shot open and the annoyed Chuunin burst into the office, frowning.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N

**A/N.: Chapter two! I hope you like it! Actually, It's the first time I write a fic in English, so sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

Trees, trees and more trees; everything he saw in his way were trees.

As he ran trough the woods the rain soaked his hair, making it fall over his eyes, and his clothes felt heavy, slowing him down a little.

Naruto let himself fall to the ground, landing gracefully in the muddy field. He had arrived at his destination, as he could perfectly see the entrance to Orochimaru's underground manor, but didn't bother to hide his presence.

It was funny how the Snake Sannin hid under the earth, as he appeared to fear the light. Naruto thought for a brief moment that Sasuke did too. After all, in the rare moments he would appear in the light, his eyes would be shadowed by his dark hair. The blond grinned mentally.

The one Naruto wanted to see got there after some moments, just like he had planned. Orochimaru was just so predictable sending Sasuke to take him on.

"No need to activate the Sharingan." Naruto decided not to act all hurt and sad, seeing that Sasuke wasn't really affected by that. However, that was just what the Jinchuuriki felt on the inside.

Red eyes widened slightly for a second. Sasuke had certainly expected Naruto to behave all loud and confident, yelling the lame story of ' I'll bring you back no matter what, believe it! '.

"What? Scared of my eyes?" Was the only reply he could think of, trying not to sound surprised and keep his face with no expression.

The blond simply rolled his deep cerulean eyes. It was then that something caught Sasuke's attention.

"No backup today, dobe? Where are Kakashi and Sakura to save your butt once more?" He looked around, but there as no sign of more people near them.

" I won't fight you. I only came here to talk." Surprisingly, he didn't even react to the to Sasuke's insult. One would have expected him to go crazy and yell 'Teme' in the other boy's face.

He took a few steps towards the Uchiha and lowered his voice a little bit.

"Why did you leave the village?"

"You already know of my reasons." Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what was Naruto's point.

"You wanted power, right? You wanted to kill your brother, so that you would have avenged your clan. You… In order to achieve _your_ goal, you… destroyed the dreams of others… Like Sakura's desire to have you notice her, and mine of seeing her truly happy…" His eyes had been facing the ground, and his voice had risen. But he quickly regained his composure.

Sasuke was at a loss of words. Deep inside he had always known about what he had just heard. But it just hurt to have it thrown at you like that.

'_Well…Itachi is dead…I actually accomplish my objective…should I…should I go with him this time?' _He obviously wouldn't admit it, but he really missed Konoha. After all, it was his home…And the village was the place where he could stay closer to his clan's memories.

Another thing was that he still cared for all of his frien… Oh, well…the ones that had been his friends some years in the past. He strongly doubted that they would ever forgive him for leaving.

"Almost all the ninjas in Konoha have risked their lives in the last couple of years, and a few actually lost it in the way, because of something you started when you left." Naruto remembered the deaths of the Toad Sannin and the Third's brave son. "However, everyone is willing to accept you back, should you come back peacefully this time. Make your decision and I will never bother you again. Only if I'm assigned to kill you." He finished, with an evil smirk.

Sasuke felt such a big amount of relief that he would have sighed if he were alone. He had been planning of going back during the last minutes.

" Naruto, I …" He couldn't finish. The raven haired boy suddenly remembered the trap that Orochimaru had asked him to put up in his way there, but the invisible needles were already an inch away from the blond.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Hokage's office. There, one of the Naras, well known by his laziness, held a mixture of expressions as he heard the Godaime speak to him, telling the boy what she had just told Sakura before he entered. Only that now she managed to keep her emotions under control.

Sakura tried to focus on Tsunade's words, but couldn't help thinking about the spiky haired boy she had learned to trust over the years.

Naruto had become a real friend after Sasuke left Konoha. He hadn't changed much, but…

Now that she thought about it, he had always been by her side, but…she didn't notice. And when he came back from his training trip with Jiyraya, she didn't have Sasuke anymore… so she begun to… see him as more than a knuckleheaded idiot. Much more.

Suddenly, she felt her blood rush to her face, and her cheeks became as pink as her hair. If thinking of Naruto made her blush so much, why was this feeling of anticipation filling her heart in that moment?

"Did you get a single word of what I just said, Sakura?"

"Huh?" It took her a few seconds to notice that Tsunade was angrily waving a hand in front of her face. "Oh…Sorry, I think I spaced out for a moment." She rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"Anyway, I want you and Shikamaru to be ready to go, should Naruto need any help." She smirked. "And besides, I already have someone in the way there."

Somewhere now far away from Konoha, a silver haired jounin sneezed.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

**A/N.: Sorry it took so long to update. I really don't like to keep people waiting (like Sasori!) but I had some very difficult tests last week, and didn't have time to write. Now, with the chapter:**

--

"NARUTO!"

It was already too late. The next thing he knew was that Naruto was landing on a tree with the now visible needles sticking out of his whole body.

Sasuke didn't quite understand why Kakashi was there when his ex-sensei rushed out of the trees, but it didn't mater in that moment. He was frozen on the spot. He had no idea of what kind of poison that needles carried, not even Orochimaru's intentions about the Jinchuuriki.

"I-I'm ok…Really, it's alrig- Arrg!"

Naruto pulled one of the needles out of his arm and flinched under the pain.

"D-don't move!" Sasuke said, when the blond-haired shinobi tried to stand up. "These needles…They carry some kind of potion. I-I don't know what Orochimaru is planning with them…"

Kakashi glared at him. He wasn't sure if he could believe what the boy said, but had no other choice. The jounin picked his student up and put the blond on his back.

"We are going back to Konoha and you are coming too, understood?" He said, failing to hide the hatred in his voice. But it wasn't like he really wanted to hide it.

Kakashi began to run back to the village, not bothering to look if Sasuke was following. Actually, he could sense his ex-student's chakra signature right behind himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ino was standing in front of Konoha's gates. She had been ordered to replace Shikamaru on guard duty, since Sakura and him were assigned some kind of mission all of a sudden. It was a very boring thing to do, but she was happy to be at least useful to her village in a way. The only problem had hard lavender eyes and long brown hair.

Each time she looked at Neji, he would be with his back turned to her, and when she tried to start a conversation, he would respond with an embarrassing silence. She sighed.

"So… Did you hear about tonight's party?" Ino wasn't sure if there really was a party, but it was the first thing that came to her to try to kill the boredom.

However, once more, the Hyuuga merely looked at her, blinked and turned away again. To say that Ino was pissed was an understatement.

"Look, I get it that you don't like to interact with people, but how can you put up with this silence?! I mean, look around, there's none- " She was surprised when Neji lept from his spot, and appeared a second later some meters away from her. Ino had already opened her mouth to reprimate him, when her eyes got a glimpse of two persons behind the Hyuuga: One lying on the ground, and the other crouching beside him.

"I have to take him to the hospital. Please, inform Tsunade of our arrival." Kakashi said, his voice unusually rigid.

"Ok." It was Neji's quick reply. Ino had approached them when he started to jump from rooftop to rooftop towards the Hokage office.

She looked towards the other figure next to the jounin. Her eyes winded to the size of dinner plates, and she placed her hands over her mouth to keep herself from yelping. However, an exclamation of surprise insisted to escape her lips.

Kakashi picked Naruto up again; the boy had passed out on the way there. Ino stared at the needles sticking out of his body and something tormented her mind. _' This is not the Naruto I know…Where is the huge grin? I can't see it in his face right now! He…has such a pained expression …' _She knew this scene was most likely to remain in her memories forever.

Under the sight of this girl on the verge of tears, Kakashi's only visible eye turned up as though as he was smiling behind his mask. However, he actually wasn't.

"Don't worry, he'll be alright. He always pulls trough, doesn't he?" He said playfully. Although, he was trying to reassure himself of that more than calming Ino down. He turned his back to her.

"You go and talk to Sakura; she has the right to know what happened. After that, go strait to the Hokage tower." Kakashi ordered someone hidden in the tree's shadows. Sasuke walked to the light and nodded to the silver haired man. "Your friends wouldn't like it if you were dead, but disobey my orders once and you'll wish you were never born." With that said, both males leapt from the gates and headed fast to different directions.

Ino stared at the empty space. What was she supposed to do? She was very confused, but couldn't simply leave her position at the gates by her own will. She frowned. The gates didn't matter to her in that moment. She ran as fast as she could.


	4. Chapter 4

Tension filled the corridors of Konoha's hospital

Tension filled the corridors of Konoha's hospital. In the waiting room, nurses walked from one side to another, barely noticing a small group of leaf shinobi sitting there.

Kakashi sat next to Sasuke, who had recently regained consciousness after fainting under the pain of several punches delivered at him by Tsunade.

Sakura stared thoughtfully at the white walls surrounding them, while Ino used her hand as something to crush due to her nervousness. The memories of some moments before were still fresh in her mind.

FLASHBACK

"What…You…How?" She lifted her hand to touch his face. "Is it really…you?"

"Yes." She remembered this coldness from their days of Team 7. "I was…brought back." He said, reluctantly pushing away his pride.

Sakura's face was suddenly brightened with joy. "So he kept his promise to me!" She looked at Sasuke, unable to keep herself from smiling, and hugged him slightly. " I'm just so glad you're back!" Everything was finally coming back to place.

Sasuke's heart was filled with guilty. She would hate him when she knew what had happened to her blond teammate.

"I have to go find Naruto. Do you know where he is?" Sakura said, as though as she had read his thoughts. She was surely planning to thank him for bringing Sasuke back, but it had something more to it.

He sighed. He had to tell her, anyways, or else he would have to deal with a very angry Kakashi. We don't want dear Sasuke-kun to die yet, do we? (A/N.: Well, just _maybe_…)

"Am…yeah, I know…but you can't see him right now." He stated, using whatever way he had to have her not set punches all over him. He couldn't just spit it out on her face, as weird as it seems, he wasn't that cold hearted. Sasuke still cared about her happiness. He my have ignored her every chance he got in the past, but deep inside he really cared.

"What? Why?" She asked, all the glee now gone from her face, as realization sunk in her mind. "Sasuke…Where.Is.Naruto?" She asked firmly.

"In the hospital." He closed her eyes, for he didn't want to see the accusatory expression he knew there would be in her face. He waited for yells, kicks, punches, and all sorts of torture, but it never came. When he took in his surroundings, he found no bubblegum pink hair, nor deep green eyes. Sakura was already gone.

FLASHBACK END

"Sakura?"

A sweet voice took her out of her memories. Sakura found herself facing two pale pupil-less eyes. Hinata had been working in the hospital as a Medic Nin for some time, since she had decided that she was too pure and pacific to be a shinobi.

"What are all of you doing here?" She asked. "You look a little…down. What happen-" Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Sasuke. When she recovered from the shock, she looked as angry as anyone had ever seen her. "Why are you here?" People had to admit that the shy and quiet Hinata had developed to a confident and intelligent Miss. Hyuuga.

"Naruto was injured. Tsunade's already taking care of him." Kakashi muttered. The 'Sasuke' subject was better left aside until it could be discussed with the Hokage. And besides, none in there, including the jounin himself, wanted to talk about that under the circumstances.

Hinata glares at Sasuke for some seconds, and then walked away, just as Neji walked in and sat on a chair near the group, as quiet as one can be. He too glared at Sasuke.

Kakashi noticed the killer intent emanating from the Hyuuga genius and sighed. '_I guess that we'll have to settle things up sooner than I thought._' He decided that this subject just couldn't wait. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and took a few steps away from the group.

"Tell me what happened between you and Naruto. And you'd better not 'forget' to mention anything." The jounin said, failing miserably to hide his own amount of killer intent. Not wanting to test out Kakashi's fury, Sasuke did just what he had been told to.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What was that? Some kind of sound…No, it felt more like something pounding. A heart. His own heart.

He could feel his blood running trough his body each time his heart beated. He remembered the time when he had almost had it crushed by Kabuto. Since then, he had valued this pounding feeling way more than he used to.

Then, he could feel the oxygen enter his lungs. This simple fact spread some kind of warmth trough his chest, and he started to hear a few voices around him. His nose picked up the sickening scent of medicine in the air. He liked the feeling.

However, as soon as it all came to him, it was replaced by an annoying throbbing on his head, creating a painful headache. He gasped. Wait…he gasped? If so, it meant that he was conscious again and could…

"Ugh…"

'_Bad idea._' He had opened his eyes a little, but soon regretted doing so. His blue orbs had met too much light at once, and he winced from the blinding brightness of the room he was in.

In the back of his mind, Naruto thought he had heard the sound of footsteps walking away and the door of where he was being carefully closed.

Well, the fact that he was in the hospital was obvious to him. He knew this place all too well.


	5. Chapter 5

"His condition is stable now

"His condition is stable now."

Many sighs of relief could be trough the waiting room. Tsunade had just come out of Emergency Wing looking about to faint from exhaustion, but she still managed to put a small smile in her sweat-stained face.

"Please, Tsunade-sama…May I go see him?" She looked at her student cautiously. Her deep hazel eyes watered a little, but it passed unnoticed by Sakura. She could see a small commotion by the three ninja in the back of the room, but none of them said it aloud that they wanted to go visit the blond either. Without them noticing, she glared daggers at them.

"He was still uncouncious when I left…but I guess you can go in for a few minutes. Just don't wake him up if he's asleep." After the young kunoichi had crossed the big doors that lead to Naruto's room, Tsunade dropped the smile and pushed Kakashi to an empty corridor, out of Sasuke and Nejis hearing sight.

"Tell me what happened in the latest Sasuke-retrieval mission. Now. I want every detail." She whispered dangerously. Something gave the jounin the impression that he would be punched to death if he didn't do what she ordered that time. He saw a perfect image of himself talking to Sasuke some moments ago.

"When I got there, Naruto was already injured. We can only trust in what Sasuke told me." Taking her nod as a permission to go on, he continued. "He said that Naruto wasn't willing to fight him. He only wanted to talk and was offering to Sasuke his and the village's forgiveness for one last time. However, Orochimaru had a trap set up for him, in the case his 'student' deserted him, which he says he did. Tsunade-sama, I know we can trust Sasuke's words about one thing: This time, he was finally coming home peacefully, and had no idea of Orochimaru's plans." He finished solemnly. "Although, I have no idea what could have been –"

"Obviously revenge. He wanted vengeance in the case someone took his new body away from him; especially if this person is Naruto. He would also be able to ruinate Akatsuki's plans, which involves the Nine-Tales." The Hokage concluded.

The Hokage was there, a leader's confident expression in place, talking firmly to a leaf jounin. However, Tsunade, the woman, was back at the room where her little brother rested.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She took a few steps and sat on a chair next to the bed. The wind slammed the door closed behind her, which she hadn't bothered to do as her eyes seemed glued to the very owner of her deepest feelings.

"Hey…why aren't you smiling? I brought him back, didn't I?" She noticed his opened eyes and explored those small oceans to it's center, where expectant pupils waited for a reaction.

"Oh...I'm sorry I woke you up…" Well, in reality she was glad he was awake. At least she would be able to tell him how she felt. _'Wait, NO! I'M NOT READY FOR THAT YET!'_ She tried with all her might not to blush. _'Humph, whatever.'_

"In fact, I was awake when you came in, so don1t worry." He closed his eyes for a moment and ran his hand trough his messy hair. "So, did you see Sasuke yet? If he ignored you like he did before, I'm surely going to kick his butt!" He said, with the familiar happy voice. Just that this time he sounded so tired.

She went closer. And closer. She was so close to him that he could feel her steady breath. It smelt like the prettiest flower.

His face turned red. He was so blushed that he could put Hinata to shame.

Suddenly, she slid her head to his shoulder and, as their hearts beated in sync, Sakura did something she never thought she would do in her days of Team 7, but have been eager to do since her blond had come back from his training trip. She hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go.

'_My blond? Huh…who would have imaginated it would turn up this way.'_ She smiled, and felt his warmth in her smooth face, which she has buried into his shoulder. She cursed Sasuke for doing this to him. She cursed herself for not noticing her feelings earlier. She cursed Naruto for being so good to her.

Of all the times to be sedated in a hospital bed, unable to even move, life had to choose this one, hadn't it? He tried to lift his arms to hug her back, when he felt his hospital vest getting wet at the shoulder.

Finally, after some moments of great effort, he was able to put a hand over her beautiful hair, stroking it as he had always wanted to. The moment was almost perfect. Almost. Does any Jinchuurikis have perfect moments?

As he enjoyed the pressure of her body against his on this never-ending embrace, he felt his blood rush. At first, it felt just weird. Then, he couldn't help but reach a hand to clutch his chest, when something started to burn inside it. And it certainly wasn't 'The Fires of Youth', as Lee would've liked to put it.

Sakura, out of surprise, let go of him immediately when she heard him gasp. It looked like he was trying to rip his clothes out, such was the intensity with which he grabbed them above his own chest.

"Are you okay? What's happe –" When she had reached to try and help him, the door opened and Tsunade walked in, soon followed by Kakashi.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N

**A/N.: I ****want to thank those who sent reviews:**

**-CrystalICE1**

**-twin083**

**-Forgotten Werewolf**

**-Advent Griever**

**-RealyManlyPimps**

**-Uzumaki Naruko14**

**-Ukee Chick**

**-Starfire99**

**Now with the story:**

Chapter 6 –

She walked around the corridors for the millionth time since she had gotten there. And it was quite some time.

The walls of where she was weren't white, but her thought made them look this way to her. The place didn't have the sickening smell of medicine all over the place, and there wasn't a blonde boy lying on a bed on the center of the room. However, her thoughts were trapped on a place like this. She had already saved him twice after he had gone back, but it didn't mean that she would be able to do that again.

The Lady read title after title on the book covers, however, not one among that crowd of written paper contained the information she so desperately looked for.

Tsunade turned to a bookshelf. This one, apart from the other million that surrounded her, was completely illuminated by the bit of moonlight that made it's way in by a small window on the back of the place. After a moment of hesitation, a light blue-covered book laid still on her pale hands.

As she walked towards a desk to be found on the center of the maze-like library, silver letters written on a thin calligraphy glittered on the top of the book's cover.

"_Theories: The Ninja Art of Healing_"

She chuckled sadly. "We took a year to make this look like a serious book." Her blond hair cascading down her shoulders, her red-nailed hands turned a few pages; contemplating the thin handwriting in which so much information was inscribed: Her own.

"It's the last memory…" Tsunade's quiet whisper echoed across the ocean of information and knowledge, resembling waves and making its way to said memory through time's course…

FLASHBACK

"The substance isn't reacting. It won't absorb any kind of energy." A young, well-bodied blond girl let her hands hover under the green glow that engulfed them. A glass also surrounded by the light held some sort of transparent liquid, in which both present ninja kept their full attentions.

"Try to add more chakra to the mixture. My guess is that it'll turn into a healing potion. A very efficient one, considering whose chakra it contains." The pale boy removed his long black bangs from over his golden eyes. Tsunade blushed slightly under the compliment.

"Yeah. However, the chakra control has to be perfect, or else it may corrupt the whole thing. What a deadly of a poison it could turn into, if that happened." She took her hands from over the glowing glass and the light dissipated. "Mission accomplished." She smiled, proud at their work.

Candles illuminated the cave where they were in. The laboratory-like place was quite the place for them to make their usual 'experiences'. Orochimaru moved forward to a small table positioned on a corner and picked up a light blue covered book. He opened it and flipped most of it's pages.

"This is the last page. Do you want to write on it?" He asked. The small book contained most likely all of their experiences and researches about the use of healing chakra, a work of a lifetime for the two fifteen-year-old. If only she knew what that knowledge would be used to, later in the future. If only she knew on what her own chakra would contribute to happen.

"Sure, I'll write on it." If only she knew…

END FLASHBACK

Tsunade slid her fingers over the page. Pretty much the same page the blue book had been opened the day that still persisted to stay in her memory. Her attention was suddenly attracted to an unfamiliar note on the corner of the paper, which seemed to have been placed there recently.

"_Shou Naegi__: Poison designed_

_to the tailed demon's carriers._

_Corrupt the chakra added to a_

_few herbs mixed with water."_

A small list of ingredients followed this little piece of information. But that didn't matter to her at the moment. I would have mattered, have the once best friend of hers not used HER healing powers to harm someone she held so precious. I would have mattered, have her own essence not been made use of against her.

'_So…that's why I can't heal Naruto properly. My chakra reserves are pretty much the only thing that's able to put up with the extent of the damage caused to his body, but my chakra can't win against itself.' _She sighed deeply. '_Now I see why Orochimaru was called a genius.' _Her eyes held a glint of astonishment as she read a piece of paper attached to the back of the old book.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The night had never been so beautiful in Konoha. The storm from the previous day had been replaced by a star-filled velvet sky. The amazing sight was appreciated by the civilians who walked through the streets, taking no notice of the amount of killing intent coming from a small food stand on a corner.

"Shikamaru...Hey, snap out of it!"

Neji and Sasuke were standing next to the stunned Chuunin. Hyuuga emotionless and Uchiha guilty, they watched as Ino explained to the Nara what had happened to their blond friend.

"I knew something bad would happen!" Another one glaring at him to add to his list. If looks could kill, Sasuke would be dead at that moment. "I won't punch you. You're not worth the effort, Sasuke-_Scum_." And with that, Shikamaru 'poofed' away from the stand.

"Well…He reacted better then I expected him to. He may be smart, but Shikamaru can be _troublesome_ when he wants to." Ino muttered to herself.

Neji looked at Sasuke and smirked. "Sasuke-_Scum_, Huh? Fits you well." As he too disappeared into the night.

"None will accept me back, will they?" It wasn't a question. Ino was still sitting next to him, and even through the hatred she held for the boy now, she let her face soften. His eyes faced the moon. "Well, I could always disappear again." _'Note to self: Never let yourself be tricked by Sasuke's eyes.'_ The little sympathy she had allowed herself to feel for the boy vanished.

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT?!" She didn't care if all the people in the restaurant were looking at her. She didn't care if the whole world was looking at her. "Even after everything Naruto did to bring you back, you still want to run away from your problems like a spoiled child?! Don't you dare set a foot out of this village's gates, or I'll kill you myself. And I have no doubts that many here would love to help me with this task."

"Great. I'm alone now."He muttered when she stormed out of the stand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He slid his eyes from word to word, from phrase to phrase, from paragraph to paragraph and through more and more pages. He just couldn't stop reading all that inappropriate stuff Jyiraya wrote.

A brown blur crossed the space there was between Kakashi's face and the book (which wasn't much). A hawk had entered his opened window, and then settled down on his bare shoulder. It had a small piece of parchment attached to its right leg.

"She's calling? I think that our Hokage lacks some sense of timing. It's already past midnight." He glanced at the hawk when it rose into the air and flew out of the window. "No more Icha Icha Paradise for today, I guess."

In a few seconds he had put on his jounin outfit and vanished, only to reappear in front of a sleeping Tsunade.


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you sure you're not hungry

**A/N.: I'm really sorry I took so long to update. Unfortunately, the chapter mysteriously disappear from my computer (meaning that my sister got my password and messed up with all my files), and I had to rewrit****e it.**

**Well, on with the story…**

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Sakura studied the blond from head to toe, as if making sure that it was him. An evil grin adorned her beautiful features. "And what about…hum, I don't know, some _Ramen_?"

"Okay, you win." He said, faking a defeated face. It took him no time to decide: Wither or not he was hungry, there always was space for ramen.

"It's not like you to give up this fast." She said, taunting him.

"Well, in this case I'll be the one eating ramen, won't I?" He grinned and put his hands on the back of his head. As she smiled, she took notice of how the sight of his happy innocent face was fast becoming something needed by her, more with each day that passed.

"I'll be right back" She got up from her place beside his bed, and headed to the closest ramen stand: Ichiraku's.

Konoha's streets were filled with people, normal citizens doing day-by-day chores. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if her life'd be like this if she just quitted being a ninja. But then again, as much as she wanted to have a normal life, her greatest desire was to become powerful and be able to protect the ones she loved. _The one_ she loved.

In her way to the stand, she recognized a few people. She saw Kiba inside a Pet Shop, eavesdropped Ino and Ten Ten gossiping their mouths out (She didn't really mean to…Well, maybe she did), and when she finally entered Ichiraku's, Chouji slurped the last amount from his bowl of ramen.

"May I help you, young lady?" Teuchi, the stand runner, caught her attention.

"Hi. I'll have a miso ramen, please."

In a few minutes it was done. Sakura went to pay for the meal, when Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, who also worked on the stand put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's for Naruto-kun, isn't it?" The kunoichi nodded. "So you don't need to pay. Tell him that father and I wish him to recover soon."And with a small smile, the brunette disappeared behind the counter.

"Oh…Okay, Thanks."Sakura said, and took off back to the hospital.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The silver haired jounin walked slowly down the street, on the opposite direction she was going. For once, he didn't have his perverted book in hands.

"Hi Sakura." He eyed the bowl of ramen on her hands. "It's for Naruto?"

"Yeah."

"You know, I can't see you doing this for him a few years ago." His mask twitched in a way that made it clear that he was smiling under the dark cloth. "He must be happy now that you are so close to him." As soon as the smile appeared, it faded as if it was erased from his face. "Sakura…There is something you and Sasuke need to know. Meet us on the hospital roof in ten minutes." His voice left no room to further discussion.

"O-okay." As he walked past her, she picked up her pace, wondering if this really was the first time she had witnessed her sensei talking seriously. From what she remembered of him, it was.

Entering hospital room 215, she found his blue eyes shining at the sight of ramen, and a huge grin plastered on Naruto's handsome face (A/N.: Just praising MY boyfriend). She handed him the food, which he began to eat at inhuman speed the second it touched his bandaged hands.

"Five seconds, new record!"

"Oh, but I saw Chouji at Ichiraku's, and he ate a big bowl in three seconds."

"No! I'll just have to devour one in no time at all! I'm sure I can do it!"

"Well, this is something I'll want to witness."

"Sure Sakura-chan!"

She smiled. Since he had come back from his training trip, he rarely ever added 'chan' to her name. He really wanted to keep it to more tender occasions, like this one. She liked it.

"So, how was the ramen Naruto-kun?" She took the empty bowl from him and put it on an empty chair next to hers.

His eyes looked like two jewels reflecting the clarity of the sun. He laughed faintly and his smile got even bigger. She feared that his face would tear apart, such was the extent of his grin.

"So now I'm not only a nuisance anymore?"

"Well…" She reflected on how much she was ready to tell him just yet. However, she suddenly remembered that she had to be in the roof of the hospital in thirty seconds. "I'll come back later. Kakashi-sensei wants me on the roof right now." Adding a little intensity to the swing of her hair, she left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He watched the door close behind her, and raised a blond brow. He as sure as hell noticed the included effect to her hair. '_Oh, Well. Guess I'll have to wait 'till she's finished with the little meeting thing.' _An evil glint flashed in his eyes. '_Or maybe not...'_

Throwing the white blankets aside, he sat up slowly. Than, the blond prankster put one foot then another on the cold floor, and attempted to stand. He stumbled forward, but could grab the side of the hospital bed before he fell. After a few more attempts, he was able to stand on his own and walk _almost_ normally.

He quickly made it to the door and put his hand on the doorknob, however, before he could do anything else, everything got darker…not completely, because he could still see, but definitely darker. '_Oh, crap.'_

"**And so we meet again. I was not expecting to see you any time sooner."**

"_If so, why did you call me here?_" He knew he sounded annoyed, but he never liked any conversations with his 'Inner Demon'. Nothing personal, but it was just creepy knowing that you're inside your own head. It was at least confusing.

"**I was just wondering if you would even bother to tell me what the hell happened to your body!" **Naruto could feel the whole sewer trembling as the over sized fox launched itself at the steel bars that kept it imprisoned inside him.

"_Well, you should begin doing some research, because I have no idea what's going on here! All I know is that my chest hurts like shit every time I try to use my chakra._"

"**Why would you use chakra when you're in the hospital?" **The Kyuubi eyed him questionally.

"_What? I can't stay my whole life stuck in that place! They always manage to drag me there after my missions._" He said defensively, and then pouted childishly.

"**Well, back to more important matters, I do have an idea of what might be causing this pain."** The fox paced around it's cage for some seconds and then; when it had found a good spot, Naruto supposed; it dopped to the stone ground and looked at the 'little human'. **"To make it simple, I've detected a new chakra source infecting your body since yesterday. It's somehow harming your heart greatly, but I am no medic to know how."**

He looked at her with winded eyes. He remembered being pierced by hundreds of needles the day before, but had no idea as to how they would have infected him with an evil new chakra. However, as he looked back to the fox, he realized something and felt very much anger rising inside him.

"_So why don't you heal me? You're so selfish that you can't even make that little effort? Figures."_ If Kyuubi could come out of its cage, It would have hit the boy for sure. And it wouldn't have been pleasant for him.

"**Dense boy. No wonder you're the Big Baka to all the other humans."** Naruto shot the fox a deathly glare, but remained silent. Even he knew not to anger a giant demon too much. Principally if it's inside you and has access to all of your memories and feelings. You never know what these things can do. **"I am already sending part of my chakra to you, but all I can do is ease your pain for a bit and delay the other chakra's effects. Kid… I am not good with words so I'll just say it."**

He waited. And waited. The softness in the great demon's voce scared more than it's rage. He looked at the big orange fur ball and waited.

"**You're dying, kid."**

It came, as naturally as the leaves would fall on autumn, one tear slid down his face, and then another, until his sobs could be heard echoing though the watery place.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura was climbing up the stairs to the hospital roof. She wanted to have this little meeting thing be over fast, so that she could go back to Naruto's room. She really didn't like the idea of being away from him.

"Finally!" The pink-haired girl was glad that a chakra-powered fist hadn't accompanied this loud expression of exasperation from the current Hokage. As she opened the door that led to their meeting place, Tsunade's voice made contact with her ears in a rather rough way, as her eyes scanned the scene to find Kakashi landing on one of the metal bars holding several white sheets, and Sasuke sitting on the ground unconsciously moving a finger through a green fallen leaf.

"Um, sorry. I got distracted and lost track of time." Well, she told them the truth. Sakura only didn't mention what, or who, had made her so sidetracked.

"Never mind. Now, to important matters." At this, the blond woman had full attention of the three ninjas on the roof. Kakashi stood up straight and focused his only visible eye on Tsunade's back, which was turned to him while she faced a curious Sakura, and ignored the eyes of the seemingly careless Uchiha.

"Sakura, how's Naruto? Is he happy?" Confused by the sudden change in Tsunade's tone, Sakura thought for a minute and then smiled at the grinning image of her love that came to mind.

"Yes, I could say that he's back to his old cheery self, if not smarter and more mature." '_And definitely more romantic._' It's obvious that she wouldn't say that particular thought aloud.

"Look, I don't know how, and certainly don't want to put this in words again, but I believe that all of you have the right to know about…" Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed.

"Know about what?" Sasuke still hadn't learnt to have more patience towards certain things. Alternatively, he simply felt the tension emanating from the two adults in front of them. He wasn't the only one eager to know what they were hiding.

"Calm down and wait." A stony glare followed the statement. Kakashi didn't have to force his voice to sound angry. In fact, he was struggling against the urge to beat the raven boy to a bloody pulp on that very moment.

"A warning before I begin: If I get to know that any word from what's said here made it's way into anyone else's ear…well, let's just say that you won't like the consequences." The two teens nodded nervously.

Kakashi stepped up and put a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. She gave up trying to delay or deny the facts and just closed her hazel eyes as she began to talk.

"Well, you two know that Naruto was injured by needles on a mission two days ago." She didn't even waste her time glaring at Sasuke. She had heard the 'kind' nickname Shikamaru had created for him, and she would make much fun of the raven. But later. Now, her attention was completely focused on not letting any tears fall in front of her ninjas.

"However, even though I could stabilize his condition and heal the flash and skin injuries, I found out that…Orochimaru has something up his sleeve this time. Naruto's been infected with poison. It has some of my chakra on it, so I can't do anything about it. The chakra has been corrupted, though."

"Corrupted? It's what happens when the control over healing techniques is not exact?" Kakashi asked, now coming to realization. Tsunade's explanation of the issue earlier had been so much more scientific and biologic that he sincerely hadn't comprehended much of what she had said.

The Hokage nodded he head. "And this 'evil'chakra is being sent by his blood system directly to his heart."

There was silence. Sasuke just waited for her to continue, as well as the silver-haired man. Although Tsunade had expected Sakura to act as the know-it-all of the group as she always did, the girl just stood there with winded eyes and a thoughtful expression. The blond woman sighed, in order to get the attention back to her.

"As the chakra is just called corrupted, I take it that you have already noticed that it does no good things. To be specific, the more chakra the heart gathers, the more strain it puts to the heart. If we don't find some way to reverse the situation, it can go on until his heart eventually…deteriorates completely."

At this point Sakura had awoken from her thoughts and focused on the explanation. She wasn't prepared for what she had just heard. She knew what her mistress really meant by these words, but they wouldn't sink in her brain so easily.

"B-but, what about Kyuubi?" She turned her eyes to Tsunade's watery ones. "Why isn't it healing him?" It was the first thing that came to her. She couldn't let the words hit her, she didn't want to hear what was sooner or later going to be said. Well, she really hoped it would be later. Way later.

"Actually, for this we have no clue."

"If so we can't stay here talking anymore, let's go find something to make Naruto bett –"

"I researched about it the whole night and…I didn't find anything about it, so…Sakura, Naruto's d –"

"DON'T SAY IT!"

Uchiha and Hatake were taken out of their own thoughts, and both opened their eyes to the sight of a slightly astonished blond woman and a panting Sakura glaring daggers at her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

If someone looked at him on that moment, all they'd see would be a young boy still on the careless days of his youth. But life wasn't really careless to a shinobi was it? Life couldn't possibly be careless to a Jinchuuriki, could it?

No.

He knew he was going to die, and wasn't really making a big deal from it. Or at least it seemed he wasn't. However, things weren't as everyone thought. Life wasn't like the stories where the hero dies with honor, proud to be doing what's right. He wasn't a hero, he was a demon. And he certainly didn't welcome death.

Did it hurt to die? Where would he go to? Would it be too dark? This was the moment when he was missing a family the most. He did call his friends a family, but it wasn't the same. He would do anything to be born in a warm and happy family on his next life. That is, if there was a next life for him.

How many time did he have? He didn't know. Naruto Namizake stared at the ceiling of his hospital room, wondering if his last moments would be spent there. Obviously, Tsunade would keep him there for a long time. That if she didn't already know of his condition. But he had a feeling she knew. The point was, he didn't want to die like normal people, after all he had never been normal, why would he begin when it all ended for him?

'_Sorry Obaa-chan, but the dobe here needs something to look at other these white walls for the rest of his life._' With these and some other thoughts in mind, he jumped out of his window; as using the door would be too normal for him; some seconds later landing in a maze of white sheets on the hospital roof. Too bad that he had forgotten about the meeting Sakura had told him about.

"If you're so eager about it, I actually found a way that would possibly be much help in his case." Came the voice of the Hokage, from the other side of the roof. He wasn't really intestred in what she was talking about, whatever it was, but decided that it would be great to use the fact that anyone there had noticed his presence yet to make something funny. After all, he couldn't remain depressed forever, he had many things to do before he was gone. But his attention was suddenly attracted by the conversation going in there.

"There is a healing jutsu I found that would extract the majority of the corrupted chakra, and then we would just need to heal the damage already done to his heart."

Naruto walked from one hanging white sheet to another making no sound at all. He concentrated on his hearing, until he was near enough to see Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke and Tsunade gathered there, without them noticing his presence.

"So, there is a chance! Come one, what are you wait – " Sakura's eyes had a strange glow in them. He didn't recognize what was that feeling, but he could tell that she was somehow happy, despite of the tears rolling down her cheeks.

And somehow he knew she was aware of his condition. Naruto didn't like the sad aura emanating from the people in front of him. That was because he knew he was the one causing it.

"However, the healer would have nowhere to direct the extracted chakra, and it would be forced into their own system." Tsunade continued, barely even noticing her apprentice had even said something. "There 86 of chances that the jutsu's user will die." She said, her voice lowering to a whisper. But he could still listen.

Some seconds of silence on the other side gave the blond some time to think about what he had just heard. They knew about a way to cure him, but it would most likely cost another person's life.

He didn't like the idea of dieing, but taking a person's life for his was just going too far.

"I'll do it." Her firm, yet hesitant voice surprised everyone. He didn't even think before acting, the prank forgotten, and stepped out from where he had been hiding.

"No, you're not!" Eyes grew wide and a mouth fell. Sakura looked at him and gasped, noticing the serious expression he held. The others just stared at him with questioning faces. '_Great, now I'll have to explain why I'm not laying in that bed._'

**Umm...the author really like when people cliks in the small purple button down there where there is an opition to send reviews.**

**Hope you liked the chapter!**

**.Mikly.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N.: OMG, I finally updated! Sorry for the long wait! It was tests week so I didn't have time to write! (Okay, screw my excuse.) **

**And I have news: I will probably finish this fic in two more chapters!**

**Now on with the story…**

* * *

White walls again. How great. They had actually managed to take him back to the hospital room after his wise appearance. Well, even though he was now tied to the bed by chakra-reinforced strings, he was glad to had been there when Sakura decided on making that sacrifice for him. He was glad he was able to contradict her, even though that had earned him a few hits from an angry Hokage. Naruto had reassured her that he wasn't trying to snick out of the hospital (a small lie wouldn't hurt), but it was no use.

Tsunade stood beside him, eyes locked on the window on the other side of the room, and looking deep in thought. Sasuke had already left, as his presence wasn't much appreciated by Sakura, and he actually seemed to want to be alone for a while. Kakashi appeared to need a whole day of Icha Icha Paradise to organize his thoughts, and poofed back to his home right after they had dragged Naruto back to the hospital room.

Therefore, only the Hokage, Sakura and the blond himself were left there. The silence wandering among them was almost scary. Naruto noticed that Sakura's eyes were glued on him. He was facing downwards at his hands, neatly positioned on his lap, but the intensity with which she was looking at him just didn't pass unobserved.

"So…You were speaking seriously when you said you would do it? I mean, die …Just for me?" He hadn't really meant to ask, but his mouth was moving before he could do something about it. Anyways, he really wanted to know if she was serious about that.

"Yes." He felt his heart race against his chest when she responded right away. No hesitation, no doubt, no second thoughts. Someone had actually consider _his_ life important enough to give up on theirs to save him. Wow.

Tsunade's glance turned from one teen to another, while she appreciated the uncomfortable, but interesting scene in front of her. Naruto noticed that, but was too busy staring at Sakura with winded blue eyes to do something about it.

His thoughts oscillated between her and himself. His mind fought to find a rational emotion that would fit in with the events from the last hour, but it was like there wasn't anything at all that would be worth feeling that moment in which her green orbs tenderly… no, wait…lovingly rested on his now pale features. However, as much as happiness rose in his harmed heart, he knew it would be short-lived. Well, it would only least while his heart supported the effects of the poison, which he felt wouldn't be much time. He sighed.

"Um… I just remembered that I have a meeting with the council, so I'll be going okay? Bye!" The hazel-eyed woman rushed out of the room, and Sakura sat down at the end of Naruto's bed, finally taking her eyes off him.

"Hey… does it hurt?" Her low voice rang onto his ears. "The poison, I mean."

A bit confused by the sudden strange question, he looked at her questionably. She just kept staring at him, probably waiting for an answer.

"Yes, in a way."

"Oh." She closed her eyes and her fingers played with a lock of pink hair, apparently disappointed. However, he paid it no attention to this, because he began to feel a strange sensation of trust, like encouragement to tell her about what he truly felt about his situation. She had asked what _he_ felt. She wanted to know.

She cared.

"It's not physical pain that bothers me." She didn't look up at him, but her hand fell from her hair and rested gracefully on her knees. Well, not _so_ gracefully since she was grasping her skirt's red fabric with a rather significant amount of strength. "It's just that... the sadness I may cause to some people when I'm gone…a-and knowing that I won't be able to see everyone anymore…"He paused and reached for her hand. " Knowing that I won't be able to protect _you _anymore… It just hurts like hell!"

"Naruto! Why won't you let me use the jutsu? I could – " Her voice was cut off when he squeezed her hand and held it tighter. Well, it turned up that he hadn't been able to convince Sakura yet. But how in the world was he supposed to convince his teammate to just let him die?

"You won't risk your life on me. It'll be one less medical Nin, one less Konoha shinobi, one less beautiful girl, and one less good friend in the word. How can I let this happen?"

"And what about you? Are you saying that now you believe in Neji's lame story about destiny?" She stood from her spot on the bed and glared at Naruto. He looked away from her and frowned.

"Well, destiny is what you're supposed to do in life and fate's what kicks you in the ass to do it." Naruto mumbled to no one in particular. But it was loud enough for Sakura to hear.

"Screw this entire fate thing! If I took the risk, it could end up well, and if it didn't it would be only one less normal person in the world!"

"SAKURA!" He yelled. Hearing her say all that made him angrier by the second. Angrier and angrier with himself. Even though he didn't truly know the reason.

She eyed him, surprised. He was holding her by the shoulders and forcing her to look in his eyes, which she had started to avoid since she brought up the matter.

"Why don't you get it? To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He smiled at her. His face didn't hold much color, but Sakura could still find a rainbow of emotions hidden into him. His eyes weren't as much as bright, but to hers they were still the most valuable shiny jewels in the world.

'_To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world…_'

These words echoed in her mind, and each time her heart beated she felt more and more uncomfortable in his presence. It was so pleasant to stay around him that she got embarrassed. And being so close to Naruto made her blush like mad.

But the words… They weren't going to stay out of her thoughts for a second from that day ahead. Did…did he mean that he cared that much about her? Well, that was obvious by the way he acted towards her, but… did he feel the way she did? At least she hoped so.

She was so captivated by what he just said, that she didn't notice his face getting closer to hers until it was too late. Heh. If they were still twelve years old, she would have sent the boy through a wall. Things had certainly changed.

* * *

**A/N.: Hope you like it! R&R, please!! It motivates the author to update faster!**

**.Mikly.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey there!**

**I'm so happy! This is the last chapter, and I have two special guests: Sakura and Naruto! (applauses)**

**I had a hard time trying to convince Sakura here to come, but in the end she just followed Naruto wherever he went.**

**Sakura: Can we hurry up? I don't want to have all these people looking (reading) when I want to be alone with my boyfriend.**

**Mikly: You pervert.**

**Sakura: (pouts) Bad Mikly-san didn't put any lemons on this fanfic.**

**Mikly: Okay, where did you hide the Icha Icha books that you've been reading?**

**Sakura: I have no idea what you're talking about. (blinks) **

**Naruto: So that's what's making the pillow so uncomfortable.**

**Sakura: Naruto-kun! (blushes)**

**Mikly: Sakura, give me the books or I'll take back all the Naru-pulshies I've given you. (grins evilly)**

**(Dozens of small books are thrown at the author.) Ow, that hurt!**

**Naruto: What pulshies?(eyes Sakura)**

**Sakura: (Hides pulshie behind her back)**

**Mikly: (sighs) Let's begin the chapter, the readers want to know what'll happen. Naruto, if you will…**

**Naruto: Okay…(makes nice guy pose) ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Sakura: Go Naru-kun! (holds plushie again)**

* * *

Sakura closed her eyes. '_Please, let it be real, please let it be real!_'. She feared that when she opened her eyes again, that feeling would be gone, never to return. No, she didn't want to wake up yet. It was something so new, and yet it seemed to be there all along. When she tried to remember the first time she had felt that way, the only thing that came to mind was the comforting smile of a certain twelve-year-old blond.

She couldn't breathe, but she didn't care if she died. Sakura couldn't care less for anything, once that feeling didn't leave her. '_Please let it be real, please let it be real!_'. She held him for dear life, and clung to his lips as though as the world would end if she ever let go. Even so, it was a light kiss. Delicate and caring. It held nothing more than the most simple, but extraordinary form of love. That innocent, gentle kiss; however, was all she needed to know what it felt like to be truly loved, and she soon found herself unable to live without it anymore. Unable to live without _him_ anymore.

Naruto's hand played with locks of pink hair, and his breath felt like an autumn's breeze when it caressed her soft skin. Her mind and heart had been both so concentrated on the feeling, that her body moved on its own. That's why she almost didn't notice that Naruto's strong arms were already letting go of her. That his tender lips were now speaking her name, and that it was time to wake up from dreamland. She opened her eyes, and reality hit her hard. So hard that she had to blink a few times to clear her vision. Or was it the lack of oxygen?

She looked at Naruto, only to find him smiling weakly from where he now laid, back on the bed. Her eyes swam on tears that she refused to let fall, as the thought of never again feeling the many emotions that kiss brought to her.

Sakura felt a light squeeze on her hand, and finally lost control over the sadness that had been threatening to take over ever since she parted lips with the blond. She cried and didn't care that her tears dampened her neat red clothing and made locks of pink hair stick to her face.

Naruto closed his cerulean eyes and murmured something, before drifting to an uneasy sleep. Good, he hadn't seen her crying again. Sakura just stared at him; at his sunshine hair, his strong exposed arms, his handsome face. She found herself tracing his whisker marks with her gloved fingers. When she brought her attention to his closed eyes, her heart stopped. What if she wasn't able to see his sapphire orbs shining at her again? Sighing, she took off her dark gloves and got a small book from her weapons pouch, which she placed in the bed in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I just don't see the point on living on a world without the sunshine to illuminate me. Would I even be here if you hadn't fought my battles for me? If you hadn't guided me through the dark times we overcame together?" She opened the book and began to form handseals. "I know you can't hear me now, but I hope you can forgive me for breaking the only promise I've ever made to you." With that said and her hands glowing a comforting shade of blue, she took a deep breath.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

First, there was merely a scent. He smelled flowers. The aroma was familiar to Naruto, but he couldn't quite place it being too busy figuring out what was the uncomfortable feeling on his chest. It was like something was being forced out or his chest, which made his heart beat uncontrollably faster. He felt the heat of his blood rushing through his body with unusual speed.

Then, when he opened his eyes a little bit, he was met with so much blue light that his eyelids slid down over his eyes again automatically. Some more seconds and the rough sensation had vanished, as suddenly as it had come, and the pain on the chest he had grown used to had gone with it.

Naruto's attention was back on the flower scent, as he felt the pressure of something slamming against his still weakened body, and his nose was pleased with the now stronger smell.

"**Kid?"**

He looked around, and found himself in the familiar dark sewer, where his eyes met with crimson ones. Demons' eyes, which didn't hold either hatred or bloodlust on them, but concern for her dear jailer. And yes, Kyuubi is a girl.

"_What's going on? What's with all the light outside?_" He asked. Kyuubi always knew what was happening around him when he was unconscious. Rather convenient, in his opinion.

"**Kid, do you love that girl? The one with green eyes?" **Naruto blushed when he realized whom the fox was talking about. Even if he had no idea why she had asked that, it was always wise to answer an elder demon.

"_I…um…I-I mean…_" He stuttered. He sighed and looked at Kyuubi. "_Yes, I do._"

"**I can save her."**

"_Huh?_"

"**I can save her from the poisoned chakra that she's absorbing from your system."** At first, he didn't know what to think of those words, but then it sunk. '_The Jutsu! She performed the jutsu!_'

"_SAKURA!_" He turned around in the blink of an eye and stepped forward, as though as he was leaving. But then he stopped. "_Wait, you said you can save her from the chakra?_"

"**Do you clean your ears everyday?" **Was it a normal day, Naruto would've laughed. However, now he knew better to leave all the fun out of serious situations. He wasn't anymore the clown that he used to be. **"Anyways, do you want me to save her or not?"**

"_Of course I want, what are you waiting for?_"

"**I can't do it without your agreement. I'll have to use some of your pure chakra, in order words the part that hasn't been corrupted yet."**

"_Not a problem, jut hurry up!_" In fact, he hadn't even listened to what Kyuubi said. He was willing to take any risks for her, like she had just done for him. With that said, the sewer and Kyuubi herself disappeared around him, and his heavy eyelids parted once again.

This time, there was no blue light. Instead, he was graced with the return of the flower scent as his azure orbs met a mess of pink laying on his chest. There was a small book on the edge of the bed where he could clearly see the instructions to a healing jutsu of sorts.

One look at the owner of the mess of pink hair was enough to make Naruto panic. Sakura's eyes were closed and her face held a peaceful expression. Her arms laid motionless by her sides and her legs were off the bed, as though as she has just fallen over him from the side of the bed. Had Kyuubi been lying about saving her? Had her nut succeeded in the task? He didn't know.

Something seemed to press against his chest in a steady routine. Rising and falling, rising and falling. When he felt the stead breeze of her breath on his neck, he relaxed and embraced her frail form with his arms. She was alive. He loved her and she loved him back. He couldn't be any happier. '_Thank you, fox._' Despite of the fact that the demon could hear his thoughts, he wanted to thank her personally. He wanted to talk to Sasuke since he hadn't got a chance to do so since he went into the hospital. He wanted to tell Tsunade to get the heck out of there in that personal moment. However, all those things could wait. He wasn't going to die anymore, and he now had all the time in the world. The girl whose head rested on his chest stirred.

He just wished to stay like that forever. Was it too much to ask?

"Sakura?"

"What is it?"

"I love you."

* * *

**The end!! How sad!!**

**But Naru-kun did live! And Saky-chan too! YAY!! **

**Yes, I'm hyper.**

**Well, hope you liked it! R&R, pleease!!**

**.Mikly.**


End file.
